thook

Hello fellow members of YT!

Since the time I joined this more than helpful forum, I've read lots of great things about Marlin Crawler...specifically their products. Almost two weeks ago I ordered a clutch kit and a shifter seat bushing and end cap and still have not received it. They hardly answer the phone or answer emails, but that's understandable in their case. They are a small, functioning machine shop and I'm sure very busy most of the time with a high volume of customers due to their popularity. So, I'm not going to complain about that...per se. I do want to know, if anyone would care to share, what the experience has been of others here at YT with Marlin. Mainly, what the customer service was like since my experience was rather shabby.

Case in point...
I ordered the parts expecting they would reach me in a fair amount of time. Typical assumption, I know, but not unreasonable.That was on the 12th. I did get an email confirming the order had been placed that day. They said (on the site when I placed the order) that I would receive an email notification with a tracking number once the package was shipped. After a few days I'd received nothing...no email. Naturally I was curious, so I popped off an email asking what was up. I mean, my vehicle is down....gotta have the parts, right? So, that was around the 15th or so when I sent that. It wasn't until today (the 21st), after several phone calls over a course of a few days (never reaching anyone) and the one email, that my wife finally got someone on the phone who said,"Uh, oh yeah, there was a back order on one of the parts, so the order didn't go out until yesterday (the 20th) and it won't get there until the 27th." WTF?! And I was billed on the 13th! Come on! I understand backorders and that sort of thing, but s@#t man! couldn't someone have notified me out of courtesy? Responded to my email? Something? I could have gotten what I needed somewhere else by now and have my truck practically on the road again! And, BTW, my wife had to ASK them for a tracking number they never sent! The kid on the phone was actually surprised she asked for it! On top of that, he wanted to just take our number and have "someone" call her back. "No way!", she said..not after days of not being able to get anyone to answer the phone!

So, as it stands, the warm spell's gonna be over and I'll be out on the cold freakin' ground putting in my clutch...which is what I was trying to avoid by ordering from a reputable business.

Now, I'm a patient guy most of the time and go out of my way to be understanding about circumstances, but this just seems like sloppy customer service. I would think they could even just make the effort to get the parts here a little faster to compensate for the back order delay. Maybe I'm being unreasonable? Has anyone else had this sort of dealing with them? Is it a regular occurrance or was it just my bad, time delaying luck?

Rant over..fine!

amgraham

Last April or May when I did my clutch I ordered the shifter bushings and boots and crap from Marlin to replace while I had the tranny out. It was kind of the same deal, took too long to ship and no communication about a tracking number. I was successful calling them (first thing in the morning) and finally did get a tracking number. However, when I got my parts one of the boots was wrong (by this time I had put the tranny back in with the old bushings and no boot and just left my console out to replace it whenever they came in). I called them up and the guy was very helpful. He had me mail the wrong boot back and said for my trouble he would send a t-shirt and stickers and stuff with the correct boot. Sure enough, when the boot came in I had a Marlin t-shirt and a crap load of stickers.

I would recommend you call them up and tell someone there how you are not happy with the way your order went and see if they will offer you some kind of compensation. I was impressed with the way they handled my order after the fumble and I will definitely order from them again (although, probably not while my DD is disabled ). I have heard this is a growing problem about them being busier than the employees can keep up with so maybe if enough people complain Marlin will hire a few more people before the excellent business he has built becomes tarnished because of goofy miss haps like this.

thook

Thanks for the feedback, amgraham!

I'll call in the morn' and see what happens, then!

1985 4Runner

I have ordered a few things from Marlin & for the most part have been very pleased.

I ordered their tube doors when they were on sale & got shipped tube doors that were the wrong size & the latch was welded on the wrong side of one door. A phone call to them later my problem was solved. They offered to exchange the discontinued doors for a store credit including shipping. Give them a chance & they will make it right. I'd buy from them again anytime.

thook

Okay, it sounds like a case of being a little big for their britches...meaning a lot of customers with only a few people. They're probably spinning their heads trying to keep up, then.

I'll call in the morning, like I said. Thanks for more feedback!

sdstud212001

I ordered a tube bumper for my 87 runner, I had to wait 7 months for them to come in stock. However they didn't bill me until the bumper was sent out. I was very pleased with their service, they even sent me a Christmas card this year Yeah they are a small outfit from what I gathered on the phone with them, but that's what I like about them. Yeah if I need a part like now I will go with big business espically this close to the holidays.

Let us know how it turns out.

Adam F

You have to remember, it's Christmas time, and they are a small shop. I'm sure they are swamped right now.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

The best advice I can give you is order things ahead of time and if it is a crucial part you need ASAP, call the vendor on the phone to order it, check to see if they have it in stock and pay to have it shipped overnight.

:xmas3:

the_4runnin'_beast

I haven't had a problem with them. Ordered a clutch from them not 3 weeks ago and got it next day. I was very pleased with their service. And like what has been said previously in this thread, they are a very small shop catering to a VERY big customer base. And there really is a reason why they have become so popular. They are an excelent company.

midiwall

ehh... they're ALWAYS slow/non-existent on the phone & email...


thook... I went through a similar thing with them a few months ago. I ordered two sets of wheel spacers. The order went through quick, and I got the spacers in record time. My issues started when I had a complaint about the spacers (they sucked; they threw my wheels WAY out of balance). After TWO MONTHS of emails, phone calls, and them claiming they called me back (but huh, no caller ID and no voice mail) I finally got authorization to send the spacers back.

To their credit, they gave me a full refund on both sets, even after one set had been wheeled for a weekend. It did leave a bad taste in my mouth that I don't know if they did this out of pity of the event taking so long, or if they stand behind their products that well.


They NEED to hire someone as a dedicated customer service point. They've needed this for a LONG time. The products are great, but good luck if you need support in some way.

4Hummer

MARLIN ROCKS.... Wouldnt deal with anyone else.

tc

Yeah, I'm having a major dilemma. Marlin Crawler has the product I want/need, but I won't buy from anyone I can't EVER get on the phone. I'll be damned if I'm gonna waste my day on auto-redial just in a hope of getting through. I have sent emails to EVERYONE on the contact list (including Marlin and his wife) and not gotten a single reply.

I'll take my ~$1000ish somewhere else if it doesn't change...

The other option (that I admittedly haven't tried) is to post up on their forum.

KyleT

i also tried and tried to get them on the phone and never got through, so i ended up buying from someone else and actually had to pay a little more...

thook

Brother, I ordered the clutch very soon after I knew I needed one and had done some research, ya know? And besides, I run a non-profit animal rescue. If I had the money for overnight shipping I'd be doing a lot of things differently....lol!

Yikes! Two months....I feel quite fortunate now!
I agree with that...they need someone dedicated. It's a big job all on it's own, and that kinda thing suffers when one has to juggle with other tasks. But, apparently they still have plenty of business. So...


Small business and HIGH volume, I know guys.....I mentioned that. The way I figure, though, I'm betting it's just hit and miss with them. It's no surprise, though, many places ARE like that. Mixed results!

I couldn't get them on the phone today and probably HIGHLY unlikely through the first part of the week, but I'll keep trying. Yeah, tc, the auto redial thing sucks BIG TIME, but the clutch is already in shipment. So, I kinda have to deal with it now. If I thought I was going to be dealing with it from the get go, I would have gone with an LUK.

In the end, if this clutch stands up to their product reputation I can easily forgive the whole thing. But, gawd!, I absolutely CANNOT wait two months if I have any issues! Gees!

Thanks again for the feedback you all! :bigclap:

thook

Hmmm....got my clutch kit....WITH NO SHIFTER BUSHINGS!!! And that was the part they delayed shipping for....was on back order. Oooooh well! Atleast they remembered the stickers and keychain.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Call them and let them know. Email them and let them know. DId they acknowledge that the shifter bushings were not included?

It could be worse as on a similar note I know that 3rd gen OEM clutches are on national backorder and Japan says 2 months...so be glad you don't have a 3rd gen and want an OEM clutch.

thook

Eeeeuuuwww! Yeah, I'll count my blessings there, wabbit! LOL!

Well, to my utter surprise I got someone on the phone. Seems CJ isn't in charge of sales anymore...hmmm...wonder why? At any rate, got a nice young fellow on the phone who couldn't get me through to Dave (manager...in a meeting with a client), but he broke down and helped me out even though sales was not his department. He wound up sending the parts second day air and gave me $20 back to my credit card...about $8 over cost of shipping. I knew they'd do something to make it right. It's was just a PITA when I was outside working only to realize my parts weren't all there. Just as well, there were plenty of other things to do...like dropping the tranny and stuff. Woooo......big job!..doin' it by myself and all. I got a new jack for christmas just for the occasion, though. Yay Santa!!!

UKMyers

Just yesterday I was poking around on their forum and saw a post where they had a some tube bumpers in stock sitting around that fitted my Runner. I emailed the guy listed in the thread. 2 hours later I had a reply and I replied back with a question and my phone number. About an hour later I got a call, got my question answered, ordered the bumper and it'll be here tomorrow. I have called them 3 or 4 times lately and always got someone on the phone. Sounds like you just had an unlucky ordeal.

mt_goat

I think it just got really bad after Deano was killed. Surely it will get better after they find someone to try to fill his spot. (RIP Deano)

tc

Or maybe they've seen all the threads on here and TTORA and have realized what it's costing them...